Syrian forces kill teen in protests

May. 4, 2012 10:41 PMAssociated Press

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Syrian forces fired on thousands of protesters Friday in Aleppo, killing a teenager, after a raid on dormitories at the city's main university killed four students and enflamed tensions in a key bastion of support for the regime.

An Aleppo-based activist said the protests were the largest the city has seen since the start of the uprising against President Bashar Assad in March 2011. Aleppo is a major economic hub that has remained largely loyal to Assad over the course of the 14-month uprising.

"The people are incensed by what happened at the university," said the activist, Mohammed Saeed. "Everyone wants to express solidarity with those students."

Saeed said security forces were out in full force, firing live ammunition to disperse protesters and arresting people randomly.

"With our blood, we sacrifice for you students!" people shouted.

Although Aleppo has largely been spared widespread violence, anti-government protests have been on the rise. In recent weeks, university students -- many from rebellious areas such as the northern Idlib province -- have been staging almost daily demonstrations.

During Friday's protests, security forces killed a 16-year-old youth in the Salaheddine district of Aleppo and wounded around 30 other people, Saeed said. Scores also were arrested, he said. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a network of activists on the ground in Syria, confirmed that a teenager was gunned down.

Thousands of Syrians also protested in the central provinces of Hama and Homs, in the southern province of Daraa and in suburbs of the capital Damascus. Activists reported at least 29 people killed across the country in what is becoming an all-too common toll as the country grinds toward civil war.